Ongoing Digitalisation Process to Improve Service Delivery at NSITF, Says MD
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), has warned members against making the issue of their salaries and welfare the only basis of their struggle and agitation at the expense of the system and the institution generally.
ASUU President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, reiterated the warning in his remarks at the opening of a workshop, hosted by the Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago Iwoye branch of the union.
The workshop which also featured presentation of national and branch scholarship to 12 students of OOU, was attended by representatives of the union from all over the country.
The programme by the ASUU national and OOU - ASUU under the auspice of the Centre for Popular Education (CEPED) had as its theme: "The Demand for Scholarship in the 21st Century".
Osodeke said the workshop was organised to sensitise members to understand that ASUU struggle is not about salary and welfare of lecturers alone, but about quality university education for egalitarian society, quality outputs, better funding and better Nigeria.
He said ASUU members needed to know why some actions like strikes are taken, adding that there must be other considerations.
Osodeke said: "Unions which made members' salaries and welfare as the only and focal points of their struggles when they should have fought perseveringly for the survival, continuity and efficiency of public institutions lost their jobs and welfare at the end of the day when those institutions collapsed.
"If union makes salary essence of its struggle, members of the union will lose their jobs once the institution collapses and the union will die.
"That is why today, those things that were there in the 60's and 70's, were not there again. For instance, we used to have Nigeria Railways. Nigeria Railways was the best in Africa, but the workers left the system and were fighting for themselves and their salaries alone and today there is no railway again and they have lost their jobs.
“But but if they had fought for the system, saying let have Railways working from Calabar, Port Harcourt, Benin Lagos, Kano Maiduguri and others working, their jobs will still be working and the union will still be stronger.
"The Nigeria Airways too used to have strong union but what do you have now and also see NEPA. NEPA union left the institution and fighting for themselves, today NEPA is no more.
"The same thing is happening to the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), the public primary school and secondary schools are dead, while private ones have taken over. When private people takes over, unions are not allowed.”
Speaking on the ASUU members salary arrears, Osodeke said the Federal Government had yet to pay them.
He said: "They are owing us seven and half months salaries. They have paid some of our members two months. So there is nothing to be celebrated. Things should not continue that way. What we are saying is that let us meet and decide on timeline. If it is to be paid within one year, let us have definite arrangement. That is the way to go.
"Even if we agree that pay us current one and if it is two months that can be paid along, let us know. If the government says it does not have money to pay now, let us know if it is within eight months that the money can be paid, let us
The Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) has assured subscribers that the ongoing digitalisation and automation project being implemented by the Fund will improve its speedy service delivery.
Managing Director of the NSITF , Maureen Allagoa gave know. That is the way to go, then our people will not go on strike,” he added.
Meanwhile, ASUU, Kano zone has urged President Bola Tinubu to faithfully set in motion the process of upward reviewing and signing the Nimi Briggs Committee's renegotiated draft agreement as a mark of goodwill and to forestall the industrial crisis in the country.
The call was made by the Zonal Coordinator of Kano Zone, Abdulqadir Muhammad, during a press conference yesterday in Kano.
He accused the federal government of being insensitive to the problems bedevilling the country's education sector, adding that government is not ready to address their demands.
The ASUU-Kano zone appealed the assurance during an advocacy visit by National Coordinator of SERVICOM, Nnenna Akajemeli to the headquarters of the Fund in Abuja
A statement by General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Nwachukwu Godson, quoted the MD as having said that the Fund prioritises effective service delivery and customer to the federal and state governments to address all outstanding issues in the agreements and memorandum they signed with their union to avert industrial disharmony.
“All members of ASUU are increasingly running out of patience due to government's continued refusal to honour the terms of these agreements
"These issues include renegotiation of the federal government - ASUU 2009 agreement which was reached when the exchange rate to the dollar was N146.7 and currently has risen to N1,900 per dollar which has eroded their salary by 90 per cent" he stated.
Muhammad lamented the refusal of the Nigerian government to sign a draft agreement reached with the union even after changing the leaders of the negotiation committee severally. satisfaction in its efforts to expand the frontiers of the employees compensation scheme.
She also explained that the agency has seventy functional SERVICOM desks across its regional and branch offices.
“We acknowledge fully that it takes a happy internal customer to make a satisfied external customer, which is why we prioritise our staff welfare to motivate them to go the extra mile for the satisfaction of our external customers.
“We have achieved this much on service delivery through tenacious efforts and pursuits, fulfilling almost 100 per cent of our customer service charter, while reviewing them to meet the desires and aspirations of our teaming customers.
"We are working to improve our processes with our ongoing digitalisation and automation project, e-NSITF, and the Employer Self Service Portal (ESSP), which is aimed at improving the ease of doing business.
"This innovation will impact positively on our certificate application process, claims processing, as well as the payment of contributions and other services
"This would no doubt improve customer satisfaction and guarantee better, effective, result oriented service delivery, which is the goal
In the same vein, the Kano zone called on the Kaduna state government to immediately and unconditionally pay the five-month, May - September 2022, withheld salaries of Kaduna State University.
The union further condemned what it termed as usurpation of the university autonomy by dissolving the governing councils of public universities describing it as a contravention of the Universities Miscellaneous Acts and respective university laws.
The union also appealed to the federal government to urgently review the Nigeria University Commission, (NUC) Act to check the proliferation of universities in the country without adequate provision for funding. of Servicom," she said
Allagoa added that as part of the Fund’s 2024 strategic direction, plans have been concluded for the creation of new branches and service centres to bring services closer to the customers, noting that “this will improve customer satisfaction and guarantee better, effective, result oriented service delivery which is the goal”
In her remarks, Akajemeli commended NSITF for entrenching quality service delivery as a cardinal element in the implementation of the Employees Compensation Scheme (ECS) .
Speaking on the function of the SERVICOM department in every organisation, Akajemeli said it is the fulcrum of efficient management.
She called for adequate training and equipping of Servicom staff for a resourceful discharge of duties.
She said: “the Servicom unit is the foot soldier and the eyes of the management in all aspects of customer service and should therefore be given the needed tools for the delivery of target goals.
“The need to strengthen the capacity of the Servicom unit and desk officers through Servicom Institute trainings to effectively carry out its functions in line with the NSITF’s mandate cannot be over-emphasised," she said.